Editing WiMAX (section)

{{Short description|Wireless broadband standard}}
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[[File:WiMAX Forum logo.svg|thumb|WiMAX Forum logo]]
[[File:WiMAX equipment.jpg|thumb|WiMAX [[base station]] equipment with a [[sector antenna]] and [[wireless modem]] on top]]

'''Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access''' ('''WiMAX''') is a family of [[wireless broadband]] communication standards based on the [[IEEE 802.16]] set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and [[media access control]] (MAC) options.

The '''WiMAX Forum''' was formed in June 2001 to promote conformity and interoperability, including the definition of system profiles for commercial vendors.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pinola|first=Jarno|author2=Kostas Pentikousis|title=Mobile WiMAX|journal=The Internet Protocol Journal |publisher=Cisco|year=2008|url=http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/press/internet-protocol-journal/back-issues/table-contents-40/112-wimax.html|access-date=2016-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821180830/http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/press/internet-protocol-journal/back-issues/table-contents-40/112-wimax.html|archive-date=2016-08-21|url-status=live}}</ref> The forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of [[Last mile (telecommunications)|last mile]] [[wireless broadband access]] as an alternative to [[Cable modem|cable]] and [[Digital subscriber line|DSL]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wimaxforum.org/technology/ |title=WiMax Forum – Technology |access-date=2008-07-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722062158/http://www.wimaxforum.org/technology/ |archive-date=July 22, 2008 }}</ref>

WiMAX was initially designed to provide 30 to 40 megabit-per-second data rates,<ref name="Carl Weinschenk">{{cite web |author=Carl Weinschenk |date=April 16, 2010 |title=Speeding Up WiMax |url=http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/interviews/blog/speeding-up-wimax/?cs=40726 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905081903/http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/interviews/blog/speeding-up-wimax/?cs=40726 |archive-date=2011-09-05 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |work=IT Business Edge |quote=Today the initial WiMax system is designed to provide 30 to 40 megabit-per-second data rates.}}</ref> with the 2011 update providing up to 1&nbsp;Gbit/s<ref name="Carl Weinschenk" /> for fixed stations. [[IEEE 802.16m]] or Wireless MAN-Advanced was a candidate for [[4G]], in competition with the [[LTE Advanced]] standard. WiMAX release 2.1, popularly branded as '''WiMAX 2+''', is a backwards-compatible transition from previous WiMAX generations. It is compatible and interoperable with [[TD-LTE]]. Newer versions, still backward compatible, include WiMAX release 2.2 (2014) and WiMAX release 3 (2021, adds interoperation with [[5G NR]]).